Archive for February, 2016

Give a standing ovation to Jordan Reeves! ‪She is an inspiring 10-year old inventor who designed her own prosthetic arm that shoots glitter. She calls her prototype in-development “Project Unicorn.” I think her arm is ten times cooler than my regular arm!! Jordan participated in Superhero Cyborgs 2.0, an event where children with upper limb differences work alongside designers and engineers to “create their own superpowers” by inventing dream prosthetic devices.

Meet the lovable bot who dances, plays music, shoots lasers, and makes programming fun! Codeybot teaches computational thinking and coding through play. I just pledged 2 Codeybots (with lasers) on Kickstarter. I am excited to build, break, and combine code in new and exciting ways with my children, students, and friends. You can use your smart phone or iPad to write commands for the smart Codeybot to follow in the real world.
“Don’t just play on your phone, program it” President Obama.

Tween and teen girls are brining the world closer together with code. For example, 5 female teens made Spectrum, an app that provides a safe support system for the LGBT community. Harshita & Xyla created a wifi-enabled teddy bear that lets users send long distance hugs to their friends and loved ones. Many of the things you love are made with code. Love is using code to positively impact your community!

Here are some of the questions that we are discussing in EDCP 473. What is the role of social media in fostering youth civic engagement and digital citizenship? What are the challenges as youth develop their social relationships and identities both on and offline? How might we strengthen Canada’s laws against cyberbullying? What are the pros and cons of the WITS (Walk Away, Ignore, Talk it Out & Seek Help) program that the Canadian government is promoting?